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A rechargeable zinc-air battery based on zinc peroxide chemistry.

Wei SunFei WangBao ZhangMengyi ZhangVerena KüpersXiao JiClaudia TheilePeter BiekerKang XuChunsheng WangMartin Winter
Published in: Science (New York, N.Y.) (2021)
Rechargeable alkaline zinc-air batteries promise high energy density and safety but suffer from the sluggish 4 electron (e-)/oxygen (O2) chemistry that requires participation of water and from the electrochemical irreversibility originating from parasitic reactions caused by caustic electrolytes and atmospheric carbon dioxide. Here, we report a zinc-O2/zinc peroxide (ZnO2) chemistry that proceeds through a 2e-/O2 process in nonalkaline aqueous electrolytes, which enables highly reversible redox reactions in zinc-air batteries. This ZnO2 chemistry was made possible by a water-poor and zinc ion (Zn2+)-rich inner Helmholtz layer on the air cathode caused by the hydrophobic trifluoromethanesulfonate anions. The nonalkaline zinc-air battery thus constructed not only tolerates stable operations in ambient air but also exhibits substantially better reversibility than its alkaline counterpart.
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